body piercings

I received this message from a woman concerned about discharge and crusting from her nipple (areola) piercing:

Hi Elayne, I had contacted you a little while ago regarding my nipple piercings. Its taken me a bit to remember too get photos/get decent ones.

To remind you, I have had my nipples pierced since I was 18, so going on 4 years. They are in areola (as shown in the first picture) not nipple. they get crusty just about everyday if I'm lucky its only every couple days, and when moved/lightly pinched to clean the crust off and avoid it going back into the piercing in the process a whiteish creamy liquid comes out. (Shown as best as I could manage in the second picture)

Other possibly pertinent info, I have never had children or been pregnant so the chances of it being a breast milk like substance is very low, especially considering its not even in nipple. My jewelry is and has always been stainless surgical steel. I do not change it ever, I clean it every shower. Do not wear acrylic balls. My gynecologist had been consulted because she had areloa piercing, she said its normal that it happened to her for ten years. Only stopping when she took them out after having children.

I think that's it, I hope it helps...and I mean I have no pain or irritation. It only mildly smells like plugs do once in a blue moon if its really oozing so it makes me think its normal? Please help! End my 4 year span of thinking I'm crazy haha

And also thank you so very much for being willing to help.

I received a message from a woman who was considering a nostril piercing:

Hi. I really like your site and you seem to be really good at what you do. I would really appreciate it if you could mark the location of a nostril piercing that would look the best on me. Thanks a lot.

My response:

Hi,

I've marked a dot for the "traditional" spot in what I call the "pleasing triangle" placement. And I have also included a second image with the triangle sketched in for you, too.

This is from my book, The Piercing Bible--The Definitive Guide to Safe Body Piercing:

Nostril Piercing: Placement

The traditional placement for a nostril piercing is at the crease line on the side of the nose. A big smile accentuates this feature to help pinpoint the spot. This area is often thinner than the rest of the nose, so it may heal faster and feel less tender when pierced. The jewelry will rest in a natural niche, where it nestles most gracefully. I find it aesthetically pleasing when the placement of the piercing forms a relatively equilateral triangular shape with the opening of your nostril, from end to end.

I performed a consultation for a piercee whose initial jewelry in her nipple piercing was too short:

I got my nipple pierced last night and I think it maybe too small its 14g and 9/16". I am doing the sea salt soaks. Just concerned thats the bar is too small.

My reply:

Hi.

The bar is definitely too short for your build!  You must visit your piercer ASAP to have it changed for a longer bar. Hopefully the jewelry is internally threaded or the piercer has an insertion taper that will screw onto the existing bar to avoid passing threads through your freshly pierced tissue. See below.

Throughout healing, there should be a millimeter or two of the post showing on each side when your nipple is relaxed out to its widest dimension. 

Only after you are fully healed should you consider wearing a bar snug enough that the balls are right up against the tissue. 

Here's the information I suggest for aftercare: http://piercingbible.com/piercing-care

Below is a section from The Piercing Bible about embedded jewelry:

I received a message from a man who experienced healing problems after getting his ear cartilage pierced by a piercing gun:

Hi Elayne,

I on a whim got my cartilage pierced at Clare's Saturday afternoon and it was doing really well up until today. I know the piercing gun is bad. i think I either irritated it or its showing signs of infection. Today when I woke up I cleaned it with theIr solution and I took a shower this afternoon and did the following:

1. After washing my scalp I used the Bronners Lavender to clean my ear (thinks its too harsh for me).

2. After I got out the shower I used their cleaning solution and spayed some h2ocean on it. 

3. It felted irritated so I soaked it in chamomile but I put 1/8 tsp of sea salt in the water and let it soak.

Well since then its red, burning, and throbs off and on. I attached a pic and I would value your opinion. 

Thanks!

My reply:

Thanks for your message. You're OVERCLEANING with too many products. You only need one soap and some saline. Did you dilute the Dr. Bronner's? I suggest using their "baby mild unscented" formula. 

These are the care instructions I suggest:  http://piercingbible.com/piercing-care

Here is information on the saline soaks: http://piercingbible.com/saline-soaks

I performed a consultation for a woman whose new nipple piercings were placed very deeply:

Dear Elayne,

I recently got both of my nipples pierced. I worry that they were pierced too deep. I have puffy nipples that aren't hard very often so I suppose they need to be pierced deeper than normal. My left one has been giving me a lot of trouble but the right is fine. I feel like the top of the left one tries to bury into my piercing. I'm not sure if it's too deep, the bar is too short, or if the balls are irritating me. I plan on changing to PFTE once it has healed.

I've provided some photos for you to look. I'd like to not remove them as I paid nearly $80 for the piercings but if they appear detrimental to my nipples I would take them out.  

Thank you,

S

My reply:

Hi S.

The piercings do appear to be deeper than they had to be. I have marked one of the photos with arrows showing where the entry and exit should have been located on that side. 

I don't know that price should be your key deciding factor on whether to keep the piercings and make the effort required to heal them since they are not optimally placed. There's a chance the piercer may be willing to redo them (if you trust him or her to do so) in the more traditional placement (in the natural crease that defines the tip of the nipple from the base--where I marked the image).

I received a message from a woman who was experiencing unusual discharge from a healed nipple piercing: 

Hello Elayne.

I had my nipples pierced when I was 18, took them out when I was 22.  I am now 32, my left nipple when pinched has a creamy white (normal) discharge like an ear, but my right nipple has a thin watery brown discharge.  I had no infection when I removed the jewelry, but its been 10 years and I still get a little brownish discharge sometimes.  There is no pain, no swelling, no extra sensitivity.  I clean the area daily, have a very healthy lifestyle, and was curious if there is anything I can do to stop it without going on antibiotics?

Thanks,

M

My reply:

M,

Have you ever tried a regimen of 2-3 daily saline soaks for 2 weeks or so? Sometimes that will dry up/clear up discharge issues with abandoned piercings.

Feel free to send a clear, close up photo or two if you like. That isn't something I have heard about or seen in my career. 

The coloration and consistency of the discharge don't seem consistent with infection, so you probably don't need antibiotics.

My "better safe than sorry" suggestion would be that you pay a visit to a piercing-friendly physician for input and advice.

Please keep me posted!

Dear Elayne,

Thanks for your response.  I have been using saline twice a day for the last week, and it has gone away almost completely.  Thanks so much for your help, I have been trying to get this to go away for 10 years.

Thanks again,

M

I received a message from a piercee who had questions about earlobe stretching:

Hi Elayne, 

I was having a little bit of trouble with gauging my ear lobes.  Generally,  I would use your website or book to figure something out, but the browser on my phone's acting up and I do not have the internet at home. Anywho, I stretched from a 6ga. to a 4 last week and since have been noticing a crust build up. I used a taper with o-rings to wear initially.  I doesn't hurt or stink and yesterday I switched the tapers out with silicone tunnel plugs.  Is this advisable, and if not, is there a way to resolve my problem without moving back to the 6? Could it just be the o-rings bothering me? Your opinion would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

L.

My response:

Hi L,

I do not advocate wearing such a taper for any length of time, even if it is made of implant grade material. This is from my book and it applies to tapers as well as tapered jewelry:

Tapered Jewelry: Caution

Many graduated jewelry styles come in metal, glass, acrylic, and an array of natural materials. A popular type is called a stretching crescent or stretching ring, and these are basically curved or circular insertion tapers. Variations include talons that are hooked or bent, spirals, and straight pieces that look just like insertion tapers. These can be dangerous because piercees have a tendency to cause tissue damage by stretching too quickly with them. Also, when tapered jewelry is used for stretching, the O-rings that are required to keep the ornament in place can cause irritation from excessive pressure against the skin. Tapered jewelry is safest in holes that have already been stretched. 

This is also from my book--not everyone can wear silicone, and it may be especially unsuited to it if you're experiencing crusting, which indicates unhealed/open tissue:

I recieved a message from a woman who was concerned about the odor of her healed nipple piercings:

I am a female that has a nipple piercing from a reliable professional piercer who you recommend.

I have fairly large nipples and he used a large gage post for my piercing.  I experienced many months of bloody leakage that finally healed.  My piercing is over 2 years old, but now I have a daily discharge of white fluid that has an odor.  I want to have an attractive piercing that isn’t stinky.  Could I schedule a consultation to review my situation and possible options?  Do I need to just remove my piercing?  Can I exchange it for another gage?  Can I change it out for a different piece of jewelry?  I love having my nipple pierced and how it feels, but the drainage is really a bother.  I hope you can advise me on my options.

Thanks.

Thanks for your message. If you've had your piercing for over 2 years and the discharge is smelly, I believe I know what you need. An appointment with me is not required. You're welcome to change your jewelry, but that is not required and is unlikely to have any effect on this particular situation.

The excerpt below is from my book, The Piercing Bible--The Definitive Guide to Safe Body Piercing, and it explains the issue:

Sebum is a substance from your oil glands that collects in healed piercing channels. It is a naturally occurring product of the body, containing fat, keratin (a fibrous protein), and cellular material. The purpose of sebum is to protect your skin and hair, keep it moisturized, and to inhibit the growth of microorganisms on the skin. People sometimes mistake it for pus, but it is more solid and cheeselike and has a distinctive rotten odor that reflects the dead cellular debris it contains.